Cinta, I have never caught it in bloom. But again, they need new homes and have outgrown their pots so maybe that's why? They are rooted into the ground though the drain holes now. I need to get crackin' on that! The one gets mottled sun through the trees in the afternoon. My big oaks have grown and naturally uplifted. Gone is the dense shade we've always had and now everything gets a tasted of mottled sunlight. I think they like it! But I noticed the color on the shady one is a little deeper. It also gets more regular water from the sprinkler. So again, at least one craves my attention.

But you winter your's over outdoors in Penn? I bring mine into the garage where it gets a grow light and 55º with the help of a heater. Yep! Pretty dang spoiled plants I tell ya! And they still whine and balk! But I imagine you get a bit of snow up there in PA? And your Tristar manages that by just sitting under the eaves? Maybe I baby mine too much.

I am heading to Lowe's today for some 5 gallon buckets. I will drill holes and plant the Tristar into those. Then I'll dig a 5 gallon hole to set them into. I will have a second set of buckets to "fill" the hole over the winter so I won't have to dig again. Wish me luck. Usually digging requires the used of loppers because of the tree roots I run into. Tell me- now is the chance for some fresh new soil for the babies. What kind of soil/drainage do your babies thrive in??

No, No when I said shade I mean the plant sits in the corner in the house in the winter. Everything has to come in at least by October. l imagine yours get to stay outside longer. I cannot even safely take them outside until May.

My local nursery sells a soil called Black Gold. It is real Black and rich soil. I think it has a lot of rich compost and fine pieces of what looks like wood. My plants love the stuff. I am assuming it is compost because it looks like my home made compost that is black and crumbly and the fresh soil smell.

Oops! I forgot I was in the Houseplants Thread. Yes, we can grow a lot of houseplants outdoors. 3 of my ficus benjamina trees got too big for the house. They live outside now and winter over in the garage. I have 2 left. I had to cut them down to a manageable 10 feet tall last year.

I hope mines will bloom one day, arent the flowers bractlike and red

Yes, the blooms of Stromanthe sanguinea 'Triostar' are red bracts and usually appear on a tall stalk.

Yes I got the long stem and we got an early winter and when I brought it in it turned brown within two days.

Rhamel, if you keep it feed and happy it will bloom for you. I do think it has to be mature and lots of heat. It was 90 degrees all that summer for me when it decided to bloom.

Wow! I was just staring at my tri's and thinking how bad they look, good to hear that they are not easy in the ground for others too. One of them has gone almost completely dark green, very little color and no white left. It is in deeper shade than the others. Another one disappeared and I thought it was dead and gone. I just noticed new shoots coming up from it so I guess I have another chance to keep it alive. All of them get brown tips on the leaves and are just kind of ratty looking. I think I will try the epson salt and maybe be more reliable about watering. I wonder if the heat got to them as well?

is trhis a international forum, how is the climate where you live?

Yes, there are several people from different countries around the world on this forum. All it takes is the ability to read and write English and an interest in plants of all types.

I live in what is called the dry tropics, we have a distinct wet and dry season. During the wet season, summer, we get almost daily monsoon type rains. During the dry season, winter, there is little measurable rain except for the 'little monsoon' usually in late January. It lasts about a week and then we return to dry until June. We are at 20° lat and southern Florida is 25°lat, so we are about equal to the middle of Cuba. I'm 20mi inland from the Gulf of Mexico so there is also an ocean effect but I'm far enough not to have to worry about salt water or air. This peninsula is solid limestone and the ph of the soil and water are very high due to that. Those are the things that I have to deal with in gardening, cold is not a factor except that some plants require it and those don't grow well here.

Welcome to ATP, I think you will grow to love it here. It's always difficult to leave a spot that you have spent a lot of time on, it feels like home. However, if you invest that time here I think you will find yourself a new home.

Interesting, I have heard of seasonal deserts, sounds similar enough, far from my warm, moist humid climes of most of NY. Thank you for the welcome, and for the climate info, i love to study climate

Oh we have humidity In the summer it is generally from 85% to 98% and the temps are in the 90's F. What seems dry to us is in the winter when the humidity drops to the mid 50% to 60% area, I need chapstick then Spring is our most uncomfortable season, April and May are very hot (often over 100°f) and very humid but with no rain. When the rains finally start in June they drop both the temperature and the humidity and the "feel" becomes much better. The lesson here is if you are coming to the Yucatan, don't do it in April and May

My daughter loves Mexico. For her HS graduation present we went to Mexico city, because she was studying languages she wanted to immerse herself in Spanish. We went in August the first time, the Second time we did Cancun, and Cozumel, in May the third time we did Acapulco in November. Every time we were there it was hot as He## and humidity to match. But we both love it.

Oh boy, I bet that May in Cancun was pretty darn hot! It's still nice though being on the water but if the breeze dies... it's really muggy. Acapulco in November would be beautiful weather and August in the DF would not be bad, hot but dry. Mexico is a wonderful country, like everywhere there are problems but the country is so diverse, so much natural beauty and so many wonderful people. I like to travel but I can't imagine wanting to live anywhere else.